The Hands of Five
Hand of Five: History on the Hub This is a small gang of pickpockets that work mostly in the Barrens. They had been working out of the Puyallup Barrens, living just under the radar in the better parts of town. They consist of five adolescents, ranging in age from 9 to 17. Their names are Jimmy, Timmy, Billie, Fred, and Ollie. While they made decent money picking pockets (1500 a week, between scrip and pawns), some of their activities had eventually caught the attention of people larger than they. They surfaced in the public eye for the first time at a street fair (Stuffed Crust), where they temporarily aligned themselves with a small team of runners hired to be security for the contest that was being held during the fair. A small group of enforcers from the Mafia were present, and the runners asked the gang to help out. They came through in spectacular fashion, appearing behind one aggressive enforcer and making the stun baton in his hand vanish in the blink of an eye – without magic. From that point on, the small Mafia group of the Giovasi family was watching for the pickpockets, hoping to return the favor. They eventually found their chance, as they charmed the kids and convinced them that they could help them work out of the Barrens. In reality, the Mafia family was setting up the kids to take the blame for a heist of military weapons right from the UCAS Army base. To convince the Hands of Five to do the job, the Mafia kidnapped one of the pickpockets: the one known as Ollie (who just happened to be the leader of the gang). The pickpockets knew they were clearly out of their league once the job to steal guns from the Army came to them. So they placed a call to the shadows to help them pull the run off so they could get their leader and friend back. The runners, doing a little bit of research, determined there was a serious threat to the pickpockets’ leader, and convinced the gang to abandon the heist (but not tell the Mafia), while the runners went to rescue Ollie. The rescue went down fairly smoothly, although once they picked Ollie up it was immediately apparent something was wrong. The kids spent some time laying low, putting in time with Father Mercy as they tried to get Ollie some care. They have now moved to the Redmond area, and are doing odd jobs periodically for a character by the name of Jingles the Clown. (Yes, he’s an actual clown.) While their leader has been out of commission, the jobs they have been putting together have been getting more and more risky, more dangerous, and have less thought in them. Once again, they turned to the shadows to try to get the medications for their leader that she needs. And again, the runners opted to do better for the kids than just steal the resources that might help, and pulled strings and collected favors to get them the professional medical care they actually needed. Their typical method of operation is to quietly sneak through the crowds, picking pockets as they go. If they have to use weapons, they prefer to keep it limited to stun or simple melee weapons. They refuse to use firearms of any type (despite what the rumors say about that run against the weapons depot), and will actively avoid combat where firearms are more than a likelihood. (In game mechanics: if it will be a firefight or shootout, the gang will disappear and leave runners in the wind.) Meet the Gang Timmy: This 9 year old male human is rapidly becoming the face of the group. He is precocious, has an innocent demeanor, and is very trusting. His youthful face and aura of sincerity have led many people to trust him or take him at face value. (He is also of the opinion that he can sell an eskimo a refridgerator and that everybody trusts him automatically. He has not figured out that sometimes the marks just go with it for one reason or another.) He is also fairly wise in the ways of the streets. There are some things he does not know first-hand, but he could certainly find someone to ask if you were looking for that kind of thing. Of course, he’s more inclined to pick your pocket than lead you to your next vice. He’ll give you truthful directions and information, but it won’t get directly to the point. His favorite things are hard candies and containers. He usually sells or dumps out the contents, keeping the shiniest or most elaborate ones for his private collection. Like most 9 year olds, he hates green vegetables, as well as cats and dentists. Jimmy: Jimmy is the world-wise 15 year old who act like he’s 20. He carries himself like the Artful Dodger, cocky and arrogant, dressed in decent clothing that could stand some cleaning and attention, and often wears a cap tilted at a jaunty angle. Jimmy was the face of the group, until he was supplanted by the more youthful and trust-endearing Timmy. There’s something about Jimmy’s smile that immediately makes you think he has an ulterior motive: its’ the same smile that players, hustlers, and shysters might have. Jimmy is human, male, and of a mixed Caucasian and Latino heritage. He is the Casanova of the group, having no problems approaching the fairer sex, and often will flirt outrageously with women as much as three times his age. (Rumor has it he’s succeeded a couple of times, too.) This young man has been on the streets the longest: nearly 9 years. He hooked up with Billie four years ago, and the gang slowly built around them. Jimmy likes news articles, and often will find eprint tabloids for sale (another way he supplements the money the gang makes is the old newsie scam: pay for one and take a stack, and then sell them off to people). Jimmy does not like teachers or Trolls, finding them too interested in restricting his freedoms. Billie: Billie is the gambler of the group. At age 14, this young human of mixed European and Korean origins speaks Korean, Cantonese, Street, English, and a little Aztlaner Spanish. Of course, he has a poker face that hides more secrets than people know. He usually does not say much, but when he does, he tries to keep it short and sweet. Billie often can be found in a faded set of overalls and a basic tee shirt. He keeps his hair long and shaggy, his brown eyes being half-closed under shaggy bangs, but he doesn’t miss much. He loves dice and cards, but hates games with spinners or magicians. He is the most secretive of any of the pickpockets, and most of his backstory is unknown even to his closest friends. Fred: Fred is a 17 year old male human, probably of Carib descent. He doesn’t say much, but he clearly has a severe crush on Ollie – even if she doesn’t feel the same for him. Fred is lean and lithe, and carries himself with a fighter’s stance, although he tones it down when he is working the crowds. He doesn’t intimidate most people because he hates to think that he would crush them – he would rather beat them in a fair fight. Fred stands out slightly from the rest of the gang, not just because of his age but also because of his attitude and demeanor. (And the fact that his name doesn’t end with the “ee” sound.) Unlike the other four, Fred knows who his actual parents are, and deliberately ran away from them when he was 12. He has been on the streets without a team the longest, having only joined the gang two years ago. Fred likes animals, and would love to keep a pet cat if the rest of the team would let him. He doesn’t say why, but he has a nearly instant dislike for those who flaunt their wealth, and will go to nearly dangerous lengths to steal from them. He prefers to lift the items of subtle wealth (jewelry, expensive comlinks, extra fancy accessories) to everyday or mundane items, but when there’s no food on the table, he’ll put aside his tastes and get what is needed to get. Ollie: Ollie (never Olivia), is a 16 year old female human of African American descent, and the real brains of the organization. Any time the gang has needed a plan to handle a complex street scene, or infiltrate a grocery store, Ollie has come up with it. Ollie doesn’t let her crew down, doesn’t take more risks than are necessary, and knows when to walk away from a job. She manages the boys with subtle charms of feminine wiles and flattery, but has no problem throwing a punch if she has to. While she isn’t the heavy-weight fighter of the group, she carries a hint of the berserker that has only demonstrated itself twice. (Unfortunately, once was after her recent capture and treatment at the hands of the kidnappers. The psychiatrist she is currently under the care of thinks it might be a reaction to her captivity, rather than a sudden expression of Awakened ability.) Ollie used to like fancy dinners (defined as on a plate at an actual restaurant instead of out of a can or paper bag), and the occasional piece of modest jewelry. She rarely wears skirts or dresses, preferring a blend of street and middle lifestyle clothing. She dislikes heels and high lifestyle fashion, finding it restrictive and won’t let her be a tomboy like she prefers. Ollie has been on the street for 7 years, having flitted from group to group looking for one she could control. She finally found this one about three years ago, and stayed on the pretense that she was made it’s leader. (In actuality, this is the closest she has gotten to a home, and feels very much like a big sister to all of the boys. Even if she hates being female most times.) Known associations The gang of pickpockets has recently turned up with a loose working arrangement with a shady character known as Jingles the Clown. Jingles, an actual clown in the "Sad Sack" variety, does small favors for them in exchange for minor work around the carnival. It is rumored the Hands of Five have been staying with Father Mercy, but nobody has been able to verify this. Ollie was spotted spending a night or two under his care in the late winter of 2078, but interaction between the two has not been confirmed. The pickpocket gang has made enemies of a small Mafia family, the Giovasi family. Specifically, Michaelangelo Giovasi has been personally insulted by the gang, and was working to set them up for a major fall until a team of shadowrunners somehow got involved and rescued his leverage. Following up on an anonymous tip, the Giovasi family found several other individuals that were supposedly working for the pickpockets. They set up a tail on each to verify this, but ran afoul of the Migisatumi Yakuza clan and a team of runners at the Van Asselt - Bentonhurst Public School. While Michaelangelo was not harmed, one of his lieutenants and one of the few mages they had were kidnapped by the Yakuza, and their fate has not yet been reported. The Giovasi family is 4 families down from one of Seattle's "big Three" Mafia families, and as such has little pull. Their primary influence is in running numbers, although there was a period where they were trying to break into weapons and smuggling with the help of the Hands of Five. Hub Mechanics Dice As far as the Hub ruling goes, these kids have a dice pool of 12 for anything related to picking pockets. However, they have a dice pool of 9 for any other skill they might have. Due to progressing story lines, this might change in the future. Connection: As a "group" contact (they only classify as a group because there is more than one of them, but mechanically they are treated as all being there at the time of need, and all having the same skill levels at the moment), they have a connection of 2. Loyalty: When awarded as a contact, the Hands of Five have a loyalty of two. Subsequent runs (either group or solo) will increase this by +1 per run, unless the point of the run is clearly something else. Using the Hands of Five: Currently, the Hands of Five are under the GM control of jWrex. If you want to use them in a run, please contact him to flesh out a story line. Periodically, elements of runs the Hands of Five will come up that will be available for other GMs to use. As long as it does not directly include the gang, other GMs have permission from jWrex to take the idea/ element/ development and run with it. Runs featuring the Hands of Five tend to be low on the nuyen reward. Current contact As of this entry, the following characters have the Hands of Five as a contact. All have them as a 2/2 pickpocket and "group" contact: * root * alpha * Sariane * Stoner * Zadkiel * ExMachina The following have them as a 2/3 contact: * Rose * Ante Category:NPC Category:Contact Category:Minor NPC Category:Gangs